Igniting Sam's Fire - The Remake
by Simbawriter82
Summary: To make the New Directions stronger after the departure of all senior members Sam Evans aims to strengthen the bonds between the singers that are left. The first step of his plan involves a camping trip for all of them. Of course this is the Gleeverse so things will definitely never go as planned.
1. Prologue 1 - Blaine

**Well here it is my first prologue of my remake of the story "Igniting Sam's Fire". I decided to do two prologues first before going to the first chapter of the story. **

**Since this is a remake there will be a few similarities to the old story at first but I plan to steer away from the old course pretty quickly.**

**I hope you like this first little bit of prologue and as usual reviews are welcome.**

* * *

Ohio summer had come to Limah and half of the members of the New Directions had graduated. Blaine thought about how they left vacant spaces in the team, spaces that would need to be filled in a few weeks. Currently no one was wasting any thought on that hurdle to come. Everyone was adjusting to the changes at hand.

As expected Rachel was the first to leave all behind and so everyone gathered for a small party to see her off, albeit which less booze than the last time they were in her house since her dads had switched the locks to their liquor cabinet and the new one could only be opened with a special number and letter combination no one could figure out. For a moment that little piece of information had made Blaine wonder how much money Rachel's family actually had. Well for a moment since Puckermann and Finn had arranged for some booze of their own and so the evening was a tad wetter than anyone had expected it to be. Rachel was gone the next day, either with or without hangover like some others Blaine had no idea and there hadn't been much time anyway to think about it.  
Afterwards the New Directions rushed from one send-off to the next, the group getting smaller each time. The second one to leave was Mercedes, her send off was integrated with a karaoke race between her and Mike, who was the third one to leave. Blaine shortly noticed that unlike her usual routine Mercedes did sing songs of mostly white artists in contrast to her usual all black assemble. Thinking about it, he had never heard Mercedes actually diversify her choice of artists beyond them being black, while strangely Schuster had used all sorts of stuff, to be frank he had some problems with Schusters management. After all Tina had a good voice so why had she never been lead? Blaine made a mental note to make some changes in the New Directions after the summer.  
On the day of his send-off Mike had a big grin on his face and his eyes shifted often to Tina, who seemed to try and get into conversation with Sam pretty often but was in a very good mood all the time so there wasn't any break-up as it seemed, instead sometimes Mike and Tina had a "freshly fucked" expression on their faces. At least that was how it appeared to Blaine. Santana and Britney were similar, albeit Santana did not have a party or something, just a quick send-off with some talk and hugging and best wishes and she was gone.  
Finn's boot camp started 2 weeks after Rachel left. The now very small group had a patriotic themed cookout and performed amazing renditions of The Star Spangled Banner, America The Beautiful and God Bless America. Ok, not so amazing in Blaine's mind but you took what you got. The new New Direction really would need a ton of work.  
Puck took off for California abruptly the following weekend, without giving anyone a real chance to have a formal send-off.

This left Kurt as the only graduate still in town and somehow now that Rachel was gone he seemed to be channeling her spirit. He had been being hounded by Burt and Carole to make a decision about what he was going to do and every time he let out a parole of statements about plans in all sorts of direction and that in a speed that sounded really more like Rachel than Kurt. Blaine guessed that it was enough to quell the worries of Burt and Carole since they stopped asking further questions pretty quickly. Or maybe they were just waiting for the right moment since Carole kept glancing in Kurt's direction whenever Kurt was not paying attention. The fact was that Kurt was not kicking himself for not applying to more than one musical theatre program. Blaine still thought that Kurt really ought to have taken Ms. Pillsbury's advice and not assume that he was special and unique enough to automatically get into NYADA. Blaine was therefore taking it upon himself to have Kurt look for alternative schools that would take late applicants. Two schools near Lima met at least the basic of Kurt's requirements and one just outside of New York City was also sufficient.  
In Blaine's mind it was best that Kurt would to stay near Lima, so they wouldn't have to deal with a long distance relationship, something he dreaded since he heart that this had ruined many a relationship. Blaine was sure that he would support any decision Kurt made, but that did not silence the doubts he had in the back of his mind. After hours of looking at the handouts, websites and all other available information over and over Kurt chose New York City, a choice that did not come as a surprise to Blaine, but it did sting him a bit nonetheless. Kurt was ecstatic about being able to live with Rachel and re-apply to NYADA next year, apparently so ecstatic he immediately jumped Blaine afterwards.

Kurt received his acceptance letter to the New York school on Thursday, and was on a plane on Saturday, basically doing it exactly like Rachel did. This of course did not leave much time for good-byes. Blaine did his best to keep a strong face, but was pretty divided over the matter inside. It was great to see Kurt happy, but it meant he would not see him for quite some time. Kurt, however, did not seem affected by leaving Blaine behind, he actually made a list of things they would do when Kurt would visit him, or Blaine visit Kurt. "New York is huge and gays like us are dime a dozen there," he kept saying time and again, "we will have one adventure after the other." Maybe the physical distance between them was not something that Kurt felt would affect them or it just didn't hit him yet, or maybe he was running on pure adrenaline and excitement about moving to the big city.


	2. Prologue 2 - Sam

**So here is the second prologue of my remake. I changed some things but left the FB messages mostly unchanged, except for a few elements (e.g. I am sure at that stage of the show Sugar no longer used the torrette syndrome excuse).**

* * *

So far Sam Evans was enjoying his summer. It was a warm late July and he was working for a small landscaping company in order to help his family out. Due to some luck or opportunity grasped at the right time, they were doing better. His father had taken a full-time job just outside of Limah and the family had moved back to town so they could live together again.  
While Sam was doing his work of planting young trees his mind kept drifting to the time to come in a few weeks. With the seniors of New Direction gone he was sure that it was his time to shine in his own senior year at McKinley. When he had switched two years ago and someone would have told him that he would be a member of a Glee club and thereby risk getting slushies in his face time and again he would have called them crazy. But in hindsight, the last two years had been exciting for better and for worse, there was no doubt about that and with the New Directions winning Nationals things surely would be taking a turn for the better next year. At least he hoped so. He had some doubts whether the hype after their success would last and how the other popular clubs would react to them, first and foremost the Cheerios. To retain their new popularity the New Directions would have to step carefully and they could not afford to be internally divided. But with so many gone only him, Blaine, Tina, Britney and Artie remained of the "older" crowd - the rest were too new - and in that regard only Tina, Artie and Britney were there from the start and would have the strongest bond. But that would not be enough; the rest of the group would need that as well or they would have to start from scratch and do it all over again. And that was not a prospect Sam was looking forward to. So there was only that one way and since old ties aren't enough, new ones had to be created. Sam mentally slapped himself for practically repeating the thoughts to himself but then he got back on the matter at hand.  
Sam was weighing the ups and downs of becoming Glee club leader himself, it would mean more control and more responsibility, and while the control sounded fine he wasn't sure whether he could handle the negative parts. But there weren't many other candidates. Artie had never expressed any desire to become club captain. Neither had Brittany and considered Sugar's ego it was clear that had she wanted to, she would have tried taking over Glee club a long time ago. Joe was too inexperienced and Rory was the same. With Tina he wasn't sure. She had often been the quiet one but you could see in her face a frustration of being pushed to the back so maybe she would want to be leader next year. And then there was of course Blaine, no doubt that he would try out. So maybe Sam could shun some responsibilities and be some sort of second in command. Should he want more responsibility he could still shift in the first few weeks of school year, enough time to test the waters. But before that he would need to think of a way to get the members that are already there as close together as possible, cement that social level and develop it further so that the club would no longer be the laughing stock of the school. When he had planted the last of the trees and looked at what would one day be a small forest inside a park an idea hit him.

Sam had laid down his plan in front of his parents and both had given their ok, albeit they had also said that it probably wasn't the best idea to ask his parents whether his idea was good. They had no problem with it but they weren't the people he planned to spend a full week with and they were his parents, they had seen all sorts of personality traits of his, nothing would shock them anymore, but his club friends were a different thing. That made Sam a bit nervous and he started worrying whether the other Glees would like his idea. However the fact that he had some basics secure already helped to get some of his spirit back. Sam's uncle owned some land a couple hours away from Lima. He used that land only during fall and winter on a regular basis for hunting, but outside of that time there was never anything more than some occasional fishing trip or maybe some barbecue.  
The area would surely be good and provided enough for a week and with his knowledge from previous trips he would be a good guide. The land was mostly woods, sometimes thick, but mostly open with several great clearing ideal for camping. His favorite spot was an hour or so into the woods close to a mountainside. The spot was ideal in the summer heat due to the large pond right next to it that was fed by a river that fell into the pond in small water falls. His uncle had only two rules: no littering and no starting of fires, as long as those rules were kept they could do whatever they wanted during that time.

As soon as he had gotten the ok from all necessary members of his family Sam sent a group message on Facebook to all the returning New Directions and crossed his fingers that everyone would be able to attend.  
Considering that waiting for responses would be stupid Sam started to make a list of things they would need during that time. Counting everything, food, drink, utensils for washing, cooking and sleeping this would cost, Sam felt stupid for not thinking that over sooner. Seems like his parents thought him to be smarter than he actually was. Just as he was starting to ponder about financial problems the sound of a message arriving brought his attention back to the computer. It turned out to be Tina: _"Hey Sam, the idea sounds great! It's time to leave Limah outside of competitions. I know just what to pack and my parents have a tent and sleeping bags already. Plus lots of packed meat and cans that just scream 'take me to camping.' If there is anything I can do to help you with, let me know. My fingers and brain are aching for planning and working."_ Sam let out a breath of relief. With Tina being into it, they could be sure she would know how to handle every problem they could possibly encounter. Also the tone of her message made him stop in his thoughts and read it again. There was a difference in how she usually wrote and the mood delivered by her words spoke of energy and determination. Looked like he was right to assume that she planned to be the boss next year, which would surely be interesting. Perhaps that was why Mike had that grin on his face when he left, Tina must have shown him a new side of herself, one he apparently liked. Of course that backed the question why the two didn't really speak to each other at the send-off. Then again they looked too happy to be broken up, so what was going on?  
Sam's mind started to come up with the first flashes of possible Mike-Tina scenarios when another message interrupted him. This time it was Brittany. _"This sounds like a fun idea. I sleep outside in my back yard with the garden gnomes all the time. Count me in."_ He had to smile at her response, it was so Brittany. And with her doing sleeping outside all the time he had two people already that would like camping and so his plan seemed secure. It looked even more so when both Rory and Joe replied, albeit both only did it with a 'count me in.'

A couple of hours, and a few more episodes of pondering over what to do during trip, after Tina and Brittany, Blaine replied. _"Camping out in the wilderness with lots of people and no inhibitions. Count me in. I'll bring the booze. :D Well to be serious. It sounds like a great idea. I have a tent on my own and I am sure I can manage some food, booze and other stuff. Let me know whether you need anything."_  
Sam was excited that now a guy had applied as well. This made him stop for a minute. He realized that unlike Kurt, whom he rather categorized as a girl, his brain recognized Blaine as a guy. Interesting.  
Only minutes after Blaine had responded Sam got the message from Sugar. _"Hey Sam, as much as sleeping in the woods sounds interesting, and I am always trying to experience new cultures. But I will have to turn down the offer. My daddy is taking me to Italy for a few weeks of back to school shopping before school starts up again. Sorry, Italian culture seems more exciting than a hillbilly. See you when school starts :)"_ Sam had expected to be disappointed to hear one of the New Directions not wanting to go camping but he was absolutely calm. He guessed that Sugar going camping was never something his subconscious would have considered plausible so that's why he was not in the least emotionally invested in her rebuff. That line of thought actually disturbed him a bit. Since when was he thinking stuff like that? He had never watched Dr. Phil or anything, didn't care about Oprah and tended to tune Schuster out when his useless speeches came up. Did he show side effects of not having gotten laid in some time? Once again Facebook brought him out of his current pondering, did the New Directions have some sort of sixth sense now for that? This time the message was from Artie. _"Hey Sam, thank you for inviting me, but unfortunately camping in a wheelchair is not an easy thing to do. And my model is not suitable for rough terrain and forested areas. But don't worry we will have plenty of time to hang out once you guys get back."_ That message left Sam with a bad feeling in his gut. Simply forgetting that Artie would not be able to go camping was not speaking well for Sam's skills as co-captain or even captain of the club. And the way the message was written Sam thought that Artie was mostly being polite and actually angry at Sam for not thinking about that. If he wanted to contribute to a cohesive group Sam would need to be more perceptive to those things. Realizing he could do nothing about this problem now Sam decided it was best to inform the others.  
He got on his event and edited the information:´br _"Hello guys, I am thrilled that so many of you want to go camping. I will send you the details for the trip over the next two days to keep you up to date. I am sorry for those of you who could not make it and promise to make it up to you once school starts and we will rule the grounds with our new fame."_  
Sam went to bed afterwards and the next morning he found several 'likes' under his event. Things started very promising.


	3. Chapter 1 – Making Plans

**Hy followers, just a quick note to make things easier for everybody. When you see this "…..." it signifies a POV change.**

**Ok, this is still pretty close to the original, but I took a few things out which will be included in Chapter 2, and some stuff I downright through away. It was just too melodramatic and shipperish too me. It is ok to ship but when you write something simply to make stuff overly dramatic, I think you go too far. Well let me know what you think about the changes**.

* * *

For a week Sam was constantly busy with planning and preparing for the trip and he found himself more often than not sitting on his bed and going through his plans on what they would be doing all the time during their trip.  
One problem had so far been avoided: no one had suddenly cancelled. Instead everyone had contacted him time and again on what they could bring, when and where they would be going to meet and asking what he planned to do with them. Their enthusiasm was at once refreshing, ego-stroking in fact (his plan had worked after all) but also a bit annoying since it seemed to Sam that they had perfected the art of contacting him when he was close to coming up with a new idea and it was practically on his tongue. But the second the phone rang or a message on Facebook popped up he would forget about it and he would have to start all other again. Some stuff he had already: He had planned to use the truth and dare his family had often used over the years. The strips of paper they had were quite a lot and so it had been ages since they had ever finished the game since. With so many questions he was sure they would be occupied for some time and since everyone of his family had thrown in all sorts of stuff over the years there were sure to be some laughs for the group in it. In addition there were some decks of cards, including a Magic and Yugi-Oh one, his small MP3 player, some maps should they want to change a few hiking trips as well as a Tennis game. So despite all he had managed to get a small list of activities done so he wouldn't go to the trip empty-handed but he couldn't help the nagging feeling that he had been close to something important and now had forgotten everything.  
He decided that it was of no use to ponder about this and that his time would be spent better in going through his list of things he would definitely need.  
Sam had spent some of his landscaping money for food and supplies, Blaine had offered to get drink and Joey had stated that he would get some food and a few supplies as well.  
Tina had supplied a family tent, the boys could use that; Sam had a two person tent that would be good for Tina and Brittany. He figured it was best to keep boys and girls separate to prevent any awkwardness. Also he had caught Tina and Brittany checking out Blaine's ass a couple of times so it was probably best to keep Blaine with the other guys, they barely registered him as gay anyway, well when you are used to Kurt everyone would not register as gay, he thought.

...

Blaine was looking forward to spending a week with his friends. Kurt being gone for not even 2 weeks had a stronger impact on him than he had thought. He missed him and it hurt. It was only small things however, some shows they watched together and commented on now felt less funny, he was sitting alone when drinking and all. But he got by, it was probably just relationship withdrawal symptom or however it was called.  
There was one silver lining in this however. With Kurt gone everyone would start seeing him as a full member of New Directions and not as Kurt's boyfriend. And maybe Brittany would stop referring to him as Blaine Warbler, then again she seemed to think that Joey was a girl so maybe that hope was futile.  
Better to work with what you are given and make the best out of it. He had promised Sam to get some drinks and while soft stuff was no problem, some harder stuff would be difficult. But having a popular older brother did have its advantages from time to time and the solution to his problem was only one call away. Cooper was in town and he was old and popular enough to get Blaine whatever kind of booze he wanted.

When Cooper came to drop the alcohol off and unpacked the bottles in the kitchen Blaine was a bit disappointed to see that he only brought Jack Daniels, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal and something called Smirnoff Vodka.  
"You know this is so much booze that I start to think you have some serious trouble little brother. Kurt moved to NY only 2 weeks ago; is it that bad for you?  
"No," Blaine responded with a sigh, "it isn't that. We are planning a camping trip for a whole week and so…"  
"You need something to lighten the mood should things not go as smoothly as planned. I understand."  
Blaine was about to let it go but he caught Cooper watching him from across the counter.  
"What?"  
"How is the first stage of the long distance relationship going?"  
Blaine felt the heat rising in his face. "None of your business!" He stomped out of the room.

A while later Cooper knocked on Blaine's door.  
"Can I come in?"  
Blaine was lying on his bed, with his eyes glued to the ceiling. He realized he had been overly dramatic there, Kurt had only been gone for a short time so his act from before was downright silly.  
"Sure." He answered.  
Cooper opened the door slowly and first peeked in before entering in full. He said down on the bed, folded his hands and looked at Blaine from the side.  
"What is up little brother?"  
"Aren't you gonna make any assumptions and ask whether they are true?"  
Cooper sighed. "What would be the point? At your age those made me furious and seeing how we both have the stubbornness of the Andersons, why should it be any different with you?  
Blaine let his mind process that sentence for a moment. He guessed that Cooper had a point; Blaine probably would have reacted like that. "Is this normal?"  
"You have to be more specific!"  
"The way I react with Kurt gone. Is that normal?"  
"Although that sounds like from, well, any cliché TV show you can think off, but you are a teenager, at your age having your emotions and hormones going wild and all over the place is totally normal. I have never met any teenager, present or former, who did not act like that. You just miss him and this is the first stage. The first symptoms of boyfriend withdrawal syndrome, if you like. Don't worry, I have been through it and I can guarantee you that it gets better."  
"You do realize that in combination with the word boyfriend you just sounded like one of the 'it gets better' Youtube videos right?" Blaine answered and smirked.  
Cooper apparently had to repress a laughter. "Well the basics are the same. You miss Kurt and before this you two have never been apart from each other for so long ever since you transferred to McKinley. Some problems are bound to come up. But," Blaine could feel and hear him moving on the bed and apparently rummaging in his pocket," this is the 21st century," he was holding Blaine's mobile close enough to Blaine's face so he could see it, "so there are some treatments for the symptoms that our ancient ancestors did have."  
Blaine took the mobile and Cooper was rising from the bed. "All leave you two alone."  
Before Cooper was out Blaine asked him where he got the mobile. Cooper smirked at that. "Next time when you storm out of a room little brother, don't let your phone lay in the kitchen."  
And with that he was gone and Blaine alone with his thoughts.  
He was staring at the phone for what seemed like ages. But then he snapped out of his thoughts and tried to call Kurt. When only the voicemail was responding he instead sent him a text, _"Hey, I hope everything is great in NY for you. Please call me when you have time, miss you."_  
A few minutes later he got a response. _"Miss you too, but I don't know whether I will be able to call anyone today. Rachel has let this whole NYADA thing already going to her head. She is antagonizing her teacher, crushing on some beaf-cake (or however they are called here, I haven't quite figured the local gays out) already and I swear she is planning on having a bunch of NY sisters around her so they can tell her how great she is all the time. Someone needs to bring her down and since I am the only one here I will have to do it. But don't worry; I am sure I will be free tomorrow for a long session of phonesex. Love you."_  
Blaine let the text go through his head the way he had Cooper's words. This all sounded… typical Rachel, it seemed like some Diva's never changed.  
"See you tomorrow then, and I have some nasty words in store for you." He added a smiley before sending the message off. Having texted with Kurt did make the symptoms a bit better he realized.


End file.
